1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat antenna, an antenna unit that is integrally equipped with matching (tuning) functions and a broadcast reception terminal apparatus, which are suitable for receiving television broadcast, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
As a broadcast receiver apparatus of a portable size that is capable of receiving television broadcast, there is a conventional TV broadcast reception terminal 100 as shown in FIG. 1.
Ordinarily, a stick-shaped antenna 101 for receiving television broadcast in the VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) bands is attached to such a TV broadcast reception terminal 100.
With respect to the UHF band, for example, of the UHF band ranging from 300 MHz to 3,000 MHz, television broadcast is carried out using the lower frequency band (470 MHz to 770 MHz). Therefore, the antenna 101 becomes larger. For this reason, as shown in the drawing, the antenna 101 of the conventional TV broadcast reception terminal 100 protrudes from the body of the terminal.
As a miniaturized antenna for mobile communication terminals such as the TV broadcast reception terminal mentioned above, there exist ones in which a three-dimensional structure is formed on a high dielectric material, such as ceramic, and electromagnetic waves are radiated by exciting a feed current thereto (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-252516).
However, as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-252516, in order to configure a miniaturized antenna using a high dielectric material, it is necessary to form a complex three-dimensional structure. Therefore, there is a problem in that the structure of the substrate forming the antenna inevitably becomes multi-layered, and manufacturing costs increase.
In addition, when a miniaturized antenna is configured using a high dielectric material, the resonance value of the antenna becomes extremely high, and the frequency band extremely narrow. Therefore, when the range of frequencies used is wide, or a plurality of frequency bands (VHF band and UHF band) is covered, as in television broadcast, such a miniaturized antenna cannot be used.
Hitherto, there had been no miniaturized antenna unit that was capable of receiving electromagnetic waves whose frequency range used is low and whose frequency band is wide, as in television broadcast.
For this reason, in order to configure a broadcast reception terminal that is capable of receiving television broadcast, the antenna 101 had to protrude from the body of the terminal, thereby compromising portability.